Weft-replenishing loom for weaving



W. GLEDHILL WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM FOR WEAVING Filed March 6, 1956 Patented Mar. 16, 1937 genes-3 p a 2,073,988 7 I WEFTV-REPLENISHING LOOM FOR WEAVING.

Walter Gledhill, Huddersfield, England a Application March 6, 1936, Serial No. (i7,556 In Great Britain August 21, 1934 6 Claims.

The invention relates primarily to weft-replenishing looms of the. shuttle-changing type in which, on detection of substantial exhaustion of weft in the. running shuttle, the empty shuttle is automatically removed and a full one substituted; although the improved mechanism constituting the invention may be applied to looms of the type wherein a full bobbin is substituted for an empty one in a shuttle.

10 The invention has for its object to provide improved and simplified weft-replenishing mechanism, and further so to construct or arrange such mechanism that it can, with little or no difficulty, be applied to any existing ordinary loom,

The characteristic feature of my improved weft-replenishing .mechanism is the provision, on thelay or going-part, of one or more screw membersdisposedfbelow a fixed shuttle box at one end of the loom, thebottom of the box having an opening large enough to permit of the passage of 'a shuttle or a weft carrier through it, and the upper end or ends of the screw member or members, when said member or members is or are at rest, being so fashioned up to m in/ 1 of the raceway, such elevation raising gut the; exhaustedshuttle or weft' car- 40 rier to aposinerrm which it is engaged byIa member" projecting rearwardly from the. breast beam or more .correctlyirom a magazine on the breast beam, so that the lay goes backthe empty shuttle or weft carrier is raked off the top 45 ofthe new or of the running-shuttle to drop into a suitably" placed'receptaclel;

As the lay approaches front centre during replenishment, a transferrer operates to take a full shuttle or weft carrier from the magazine on 50 the breast beam and place it upon the front lower parts of the threads of the worms ready for the next call for weft, replenishment. Thev magazine is of vertical type, and the transferrer is arrangedto take away .the lowest shuttle 5 5 or .weft carrier andfat the same time hold up the next lowest shuttle or weft. carrier until the transferrer returns Ytonormal position, when the'said hext lowest shuttle or weft carrier is permitted to drop down into transfer position.' v j! :5

Suitable means are provided to hold the weft endsextending from the. shuttles or weft carriers in the magazineand from that resting on the screws so that they are all in correct relative! position to a thread cutter mounted on the breast beam, so that when a new shuttle or weft carrier has been brought into action the weft end extending from the selvage to the end holder is in correctposition to be severed by the cutter.

Means may be provided to carry into the path of the cutter, on.,.the pick onwhich replenishment is to take place, the weft extending fromv the selvage to the exhausted shuttleor weft carrier, so that the old weft is out on the first pick after replenishment along with-the newweft weft end clear of the reserve weft end, and

to remove from the exhausted bobbin any weft 25 which may remain thereon.

Means may 1 also 'be provided whereby, just before replenishment," the-loom brake is applied to reduce temporarilylthe'speed of the loom and thus reduce possible shocks and strains.

The means for actuating the screws which effect the weft replenishment and for actuating the transferrer and other mechanisms are brought into operation by an electro-magnet situated at'rthe'replenishing end, of the loom and energized when weft exhaustion is detected by a-feelersituatedat the (opposite t end of the loom. no

Such being briefly the nature of the invention, a fuller and more detailed descriptionwill 40 be given with the aid of the accompanyingdrawing'fin which: ff .7

Fig. 1 is a front elevation. of the right hand. or replenishing, end of a loom of the shuttlechanging type having an embodiment of the 5 invention applied thereto:

Fig. .27 is a plan View of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevationlooking in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail ona somewhat enlarged scale,

illustrating the operation of weft replenishment;

Fig. 5' is detail rear view looking in the direction of the arrow 5 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail illustrating the weft end to abracket m on the loom frame.

holder and cutter and means for holding up into the path of the cutter the ends of weft extending from the selvage of the fabric to the empty shuttle, and from the selvage to the end holder.

Fig. 7 is a side view and Figs. 8 and 9 plan views of means for holding out the box swell to enable the empty shuttle to be ejected and the full shuttle to move in;

Fig. 10 is a detail plan view of a portion of the shuttle box at the replenishing end of the loom showing provision for permitting the weft end from the new shuttle to take a direct path from the weft end holder to the cutter;

Fig. 11 illustrates how the weft end from the empty shuttle is removed from the path of the new weft and any remaining weft stripped from the bobbin in the empty shuttle;

Fig. 12 illustrates how, in a modified arrangement, the picker may be moved out of the way to allow the spent shuttle to be ejected through an open end of the shuttle box at the replenishing end of the loom.

Referring to the drawing, a represents the crankshaft of the loom, b the picking shaft, the lay, and d the breast beam. For the purposes of the invention, I provide at one end of the lay a weft feeler of any approved construction adapted, on exhaustion of weft in the running shuttle, to close an electric circuit and energize an electromagnet e at the opposite or replenishing end of the loom.

On the breast beam at the replenishing end of the loom I provide a shuttle magazine 1 of vertical type from which, by means to be described later, the lowest shuttle can be taken and transferred to replenishing position.

Movable with the lay I provide two screws g and h the upper ends of which are adapted to form shuttle supports, or a false shuttle box bottom, at the replenishing end of the loom.

A lever i pivotedat 2". on the loom frame to swing frontwardly and rearwardly, carries at its upper end a transfer member having a part 2' adapted to take from the magazine the lowest shuttle, and a part i adapted to ride under and support the next lowest shuttle until the transfer member returns to normal position when the said next lowest shuttle is permitted to drop down into transfer position. The action of the transferrer will best be understood by reference to Fig. 4 of the drawing.

The shafts g, h of the two elevating screws are geared together by toothed gears g and 71 and the lower end of the shaft g is geared by bevel gears 7' and a" to a shaft k carrying a. chain wheel k which is connected by chain 70 to a chain wheel m on a rotatable boss m mounted loosely on a stud m disposed below the end of the picking shaft 1). The boss m carries also a toothed pinion m On the end of the picking shaft there is fast a cam n having on its periphery gear teeth n with which, by an inward sliding movement of the boss m, the pinion 'm can be caused to mesh so as to receive a partial r0.- tation during a revolution of the cam.

The boss m is movable axially by means of a. forked member 711; pivoted at its lowerend on a bracket 112. secured to the end frame of the loom. Connected pivotally to the member m at m is the lower end of a lever m pivoted at m to The upper end of the lever m has a rearward projection m carrying a pivoted catch member 0, the position of which is controlled by a weft feeler at the opposite end of the loom. Conveniently this feeler may be of the electric type and be arranged, on detection of substantial exhaustion of weft in the running shuttle, to close a circuit through the electro-magnet e the armature lever 10 of which is connected to the pivoted catch member 0.

The cam 11 has on its outer face a flange or strip 11. which when the catch member 0 is in operative position enters a groove on the inner side of the said member and acts to move it laterally outwards, thus swinging the lever m and rocking thereby the forked member m which controls the axial movement of the boss m.

The catch member 0 is shown as being counterweighted at o so that normally it will be held in inoperative position, and the connection 0 to the armature lever 12 of the magnet is such that when the magnet is energized by the action of the weft feeler the connection 0 will be raised to rock the catch into operative position.

When the boss m is moved to carry the pinion m into the path of the gear teeth n it is, at the appropriate time in the revolution of the picking shaft, given a partial rotation. This rotation causes the elevating screws g and h to commence to revolve and thus to elevate the full shuttle which, as will become apparent, is at this time resting on the front portions of the screw threads, as is indicated in Fig. 4. The rotation of the screws may be timed to commence as soon as the empty shuttle has reached the shuttle box at the replenishing end of the loom, and may continue until the next pick from that side of the loom is due to commence. A considerable time, relatively speaking, is thus, available in which to effect the change of shuttles.

In the embodiment now being described the empty shuttle, on arrival at the replenishing end of the loom is permitted to remain in the shuttle box. As the elevating screws operate, therefore, to raiseto the level of the race way a full shuttle, the empty shuttle represented at s in Fig. 4, is raised up into the position indicated at s that isto say above the level of the top of the shuttle box.

Projecting rearwardly from the magazine is a hook member ,1 which when the lay comes to front centre extends over the shuttle position as shown in Fig. 4. As the empty shuttle is raised out of the box, therefore, they hook member enters the top of the shuttle and as the lay goes back the empty shuttle is raked off the top of the full shuttle to fall into a suitably placed receptacle.

In an alternative arrangement the empty shuttle may, on arrivalat the replenishing end of the loom, not be retained in the box but be ejected through the open end of the box. To

this end, as shown. in Fig. 12, provision may be made to swing the picker t out of the way. A boss t mounted loosely on the picker spindle t has pins t which straddle the picker stem, and an arm t which is arranged to be drawn downwardly simultaneously with the inward movement of the boss m when replenishment is to take place. The downward drawing of the arm swings the pickerout of the way as shown, a suitable opening or gap being provided in the box back for the purpose.

On the shaft g of the screw g there is pro vided a cam g which as the lay comes forward during replenishment engages the lever i and operates the transfer member to transfer a full shuttle from the magazine and place it on the with projecting wire teeth which engage and the lower endof which the weft ends from all the shuttles in themagazine are passed to be secured to a fixed endholden-j The lower end of the member ,f is" disposedat such a height that when a'full'shuttle is picked for the first time its weft is carried into the path-of the usual temple threa'dcutter F." The member f issupp'orted; -loo'sely=so that it' can be lifted up each time a shuttleisplaced into the magazine, and the weft end be'passe'dfbeneath the lower end ofthe mem'benwithout any danger of the hand being trapped if the magazine is being charged whilst the loom is running. The full shuttle when being placed into running position is, as has been explained; elevated up through the bottom of the shuttle box. To enable its weft to pass straight from the member I to the selvage there is provided in the inner end of the shuttle box' bottom a slot u see Fig. 10. The weft end can thus pass clear of the front of the box,-as will be understood.

When an empty shuttle is removed from the shuttle box in the manner above described, the weft end extending from it to the selvage of the fabric crosses over the weft end extending from the weft end holder to the full shuttle which is being elevated to running position. In order to get this weft end out of the way I provide, as shown in Fig. 6, a lifter cord 12 one end of which extends loosely over the breast beam (1 whilst the other is held by a spring clip on the crank connector 22 As the crank shaft rotates therefore the cord 12 is raised as shown in dotted lines and lifts the spent weft end up into the path of the temple thread cutter so that such weft end is definitely cut on the first pick after removal of the empty shuttle.

As previously mentioned, the empty shuttle,

when removed, drops down into a suitable receptacle. In so doing it carries the weft end w extending from it to the selvage into the path of a suitablyrotated roller R Fig. 11, provided catch the weft end and, as the roller rotates,

the spent weft end, which by this time has been cut at the selvage, is dragged clear of the new Weft and at the same time any weft remaining on the bobbin in the spent shuttle is drawn off.

The roller R is preferably withdrawable from its driving spindle and provided with a longitudinal slot to permit of cutting and removal of the collectedweft ends.

In order to hold the jammer lever w in inoperative position and to withdraw the usual shuttle box swell or shuttle binder when a new shuttle is being inserted, a rod or wire connected to the lever m which carries the catch 0 may be suitably cranked and journalled on the loom frame so that its end to will, when the catch lever swings laterally to initiate replenishment, be caused to move under the jammer lever and hold it up, such raising of the jammer lever being arranged, by a suitable connection, to act upon and withdraw the shuttle binder.

The magazineis provided with vertical guide strips f to retain theshuttles. These guide strips terminate just above the lowest shuttle, andto hold the latter there are provided at the lower ends of the magazine sides and towards eaclrend of the bottom suitable blade springs Which-function to retain y'ieldingly the shuttle until operation of the transferrer. Suitable springs will also be provided in the front of the shuttle box to receive the full'shuttle from the transferrer and hold it in: position on'the screws.

When it is arranged-to remove the empty shuttle over the front top of the shuttle box as has been described, I preferably provide at the see Fig. 2, the .said strip being-normally held downby spring action to form a top guide for the shuttle and yielding vertically to permit of raisingof the emptyshuttle.

The inner end portion of the member :r is arranged. to cooperate with a small recess in the box back so thatas ashuttle enters the box it tends to forcethe end portion into the recess and enables the strip to yield vertically. When the empty shuttle has been raised to a certain height it rides clear of the spring strip, and. the spring thereupon acts-to force down the strip behind the shuttle and thus assist in the forward ejectingmovement of the latter.

The forked member m which functions to give axial movement to the boss m to initiate replenishment is provided with a projection, not shown, which is engaged by the cam n at the appropriate time and'causes the said member to be swung in a direction to move the boss outwardly and thus stop the action of the replenishing mechanisms.

It may be desirable, in order to avoid shocks, to slow down the loom prior to and during replenishment.- To this end the usual brake connector y may be fashioned with inclined slots y, 11 to receive respectively the thin pin g on the sliding stop member to and the pin 11 on the usual pivoted brake block holder 111 A cam y movable with the boss m is adapted, when suflicient to apply the brake, this action being quite independent of the usual application of the brake through the action of the jammer lever.

:The provision of the inclined slots in the connector ,1 also enables the usual separate weft stop motion brake to be dispensed with. A connection g is made to a rod g movable vertically when the weft stop motion operates, and adapted to move downwardly the front end of the connector thus giving to it an endwise movement and applying the brake. The connector 11 functions, therefore in three ways, firstly as a knockoff brake member under a direct pull from the member 112 secondly as a weft stop brake member as just described, and thirdly as a slow down brake member prior to and during replenishment.

In order to minimize any shock which may occur when commencing a replenishing operation, the chain k which conveys drive to the elevating screws may pass over a bowl k on a spring-actuated jockey lever k so that the drive is started gradually. A connection from the jockey lever is led to the usual knock-off lever so that in the event of any obstruction causing an undue movement of the jockey lever the loom will be stopped.

In applying the invention to a loom of the type in which a full bobbin or weft carrier is substituted for anmempty one in the running shuttle the magaf". e and transferrer will be appropriately modii-ed to deal with bobbins or weft carriers. The'yielding strip :c will notbe requirtfd, and the top of the box may have fixed strips both at the front and back to hold the shuttle down during replenishment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shuttle changing loom, a fixed shuttle box at one end therof, a vertical screw member disposed beneath the said box with its upper end forming a false bottom thereto, said screw member being adapted to support a full shuttle on its thread below the upper end of the thread, and means operable upon weft exhaustion in the running shuttle for rotating said screw member in a direction to raise a full shuttle into the shuttle box.

2. The combination with mechanism according to claim 1, of a fixed full-shuttle magazine at the front of the loom and means operable upon weft exhaustion to transfer a full shuttle from said magazine on to the thread of the screw member.

3. The combination, with mechanism according to claim 1, of a fixed full-shuttle magazine at the front of the loom, means operable upon weft exhaustion to transfer a full shuttle from said magazine on to the thread of the screw member, and a rearwardly extending hook member carried by the magazine, said hook member being engageable in the top of an empty shuttle as the latter is raised out of the shuttle box during shuttle changing whereby to rake said empty shuttle off the top of a newly inserted shuttle as the loom lay goes back.

4. In mechanism according to claim 1 an open outer end to the shuttle box, a picker adapted to pick out a shuttle from the said box, and means to move the said picker clear of the box when shuttle changing is to be effected.

5. -In mechanism according to claim 1, a shuttle binder in the fixed shuttle box, and means to render said binder inoperative while shuttle changing is taking place.

6. In a mechanism according to claim 1, a pulley on the loom crank shaft, a brake operable thereagainst, means to operate said brake to stop the loom, a connector between said means and said brake, and separate brake actuating means associated with said connector and operable by initiation of shuttle changing to cause the brake to be applied independently of said brake operating means.

WALTER GLEDHILL. 

